1. How to make a “zero tolerance” policy with yourself about not taking any mood or mind altering substances.

The “zero tolerance policy” is a condition that you place on yourself that says “no matter what.”

It basically reads as such: “I will not use drugs or alcohol today no matter what.”

Most people have no problem focusing on the idea of “not using drugs or alcohol.” What they often fail to realize is that the important part of this strategy is the no matter what part.

When you first get clean and sober, maintaining abstinence needs to become your number one priority in life. You have to set it above all other things, even above things such as family, love, relationships, religion, and so on. Everything gets bumped a notch down as your new, most important mission in life is to “not use drugs or alcohol today no matter what.”

This is the first action step of any long term recovery plan. The commitment to abstain, no matter what. It is more important than everything else. Period.

Why does this need to be learned?

Failure to grasp the idea of the zero tolerance policy results in relapse. If you do not commit absolutely, then you will most certainly relapse.

But the idea of having a zero tolerance policy towards relapse does much more than just prevent relapse. It actually changes how we live our lives, because each day, we completely write off the potential for using drugs or alcohol. This fierce commitment to abstinence frees up a lot of time and mental energy that might otherwise be spent needlessly obsessing on things. The quality of our life improves because we become more focused on positive action, simply because we do not have to hem and haw over whether we might take a drink or a drug that day.

It is not about raw willpower. We all know that willpower is typically not enough to overcome a real addiction. This is more about reprogramming your mind in early recovery. The thought of relapse should become like poison to you. The idea of taking a swig of alcohol should be like touching a hot stove. If you are not at that point, then something needs to change.